Jamboree may return

A revived “Jamboree” country music concert series could return to WWVA (1170), though not under the auspices of the station’s owners.

The new “Wheeling Jamboree” is being launched by a local nonprofit coalition and the first concert (by Kathy Mattea) has been set for April 12 at the city’s WesBanco Arena, according to the Wheeling News-Register.

Future concerts will tentatively include The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Lee Greenwood and The Oak Ridge Boys, but the sponsors still need to raise about $200,000 before the first show.

WWVA has agreed to air the concerts.

Under various names, the WWVA “Jamboree” was a country music institution from 1933 until being discontinued by the station’s parent company, Clear Channel, and its one-time concert subsidiary, Live Nation, in December 2005.

The weekly Saturday night broadcasts — carried around the country by the CBS network and WWVA’s own 50,000-watt signal — originated from Wheeling’s Capitol Music Hall.

The Capitol is currently closed and in need of repairs, though promoters of the new Jamboree hope it can return to the stage if the hall reopens.

However, the new Jamboree is not a continuation of the old “WWVA Jamboree.” Like the Capitol, the trademarks for “WWVA Jamboree,” “Jamboree USA” and “Jamboree in the Hills,” remain property of Live Nation.

In related news, WWVA reportedly is up for sale again; according to unconfirmed but reliable reports, a planned sale to GoodRadio.TV has fallen through.